Checks how healthy the cash cushion is — Age of Money, near-term cash flow forecast, and whether the credit card float is quietly draining the buffer. Use when the user says "check my age of money", "am I living paycheck to paycheck", "how's my cash flow", "will I have enough before payday", or "is my credit card float catching up to me".
Helps give every dollar a job — assigns unallocated Ready to Assign money to categories, funds underfunded goals, and sets up new categories or category groups. Use when the user says "I have money to assign", "help me budget this month", "what should I fund", "help me set up a new category", "organize my budget categories", or "assign my leftover funds".
Helps plan and fund a large, specific, one-time savings goal with a dollar target and timeline — house down payment, car, wedding, sabbatical. Use when a user says "I'm saving for a house down payment", "how much do I need to save monthly for X", "help me set a savings target with a deadline", or "I want to buy a car in a year".
Helps build a sustainable debt-payoff plan that fits inside a real budget instead of fighting it. Use when a user says "help me pay off my credit cards", "snowball or avalanche, which should I do", "how do I set up a debt goal", "I keep going into debt for emergencies while paying off debt", or "what order should I attack my debts".
Guides building an emergency fund from zero, or strengthening a thin one, with staged achievable milestones. Use when a user says "I have no emergency fund", "how much should I have saved for emergencies", "help me build a safety net", "I keep raiding savings for car repairs", or "where do I start with an emergency fund".
Guides a brand-new YNAB user through structuring their first budget — category-group pattern, right level of detail, and avoiding beginner traps. Use when a user says "I just signed up for YNAB, where do I start", "how should I set up categories", "how many categories should I have", "should I track every subscription separately", or "I'm overwhelmed setting up my budget".
Helps prepare financially for a known or likely upcoming income change — parental leave, job-loss risk, retirement transition, return to school — before it happens. Use when a user says "I'm going on parental leave, how do I prepare", "I might get laid off", "I'm planning to retire in a year", "how do I prepare for a pay cut", or "help me plan for reduced income".
Teaches the budgeting approach for freelancers, commission earners, and gig workers with variable month-to-month income. Use when a user says "my income is different every month", "I'm a freelancer, how do I budget", "I don't know how much I'll make next month", "how do I stop overspending in good months", or "how does budgeting work without a steady paycheck".